Flare ejector



y 5, 1964 M. G. COULTER 3,131,498

FLARE EJECTOR Filed March 13, 1961 FIE a FIG FIE-El INVENTOR. MARSHALL G. CouLTER 42 H BY EARL F. KOTTS F 5 4 ATTORNEY United States Patent FLARE EJECTOR Marshall G. Coulter, 118 Park St., Tecumseh, Mich. Filed Mar. 13, 1961, Ser. No. 95,137 1 Claim. (Cl. 42-1 The present invention relates to an improved flare ejector. The flare ejector of the present invention is particularly Well suited for use in boats, although it is obvious that it may be used in other situations. Boat operators need an emergency signalling device which can be' easily and quickly put into use.

Present flare ejectors are costly, cumbersome, and diflicult to "use and store. There is a demand for a flare ejector which is simple, inexpensive and eflicient in use.

Therefore, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a simple flare ejector which can readily be manufactured at relatively low cost, and which is positive and effective in use.

It is another object of the present invention to provide such a flare ejector which uses inexpensive flares made from a shotgun shell type casing.

It is another object of the present invention to provide such a flare ejector which includes means to prevent a standard shotgun shell from being inserted therein.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a flare ejector which has a positive safety to prevent accidental firing of the flare when the ejector is loaded.

Other objects of this invention will appear in the following description and appended claim, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a mid-sectional view of the flare ejector of the present invention in the assembled condition Without a flare shell and with the safety in the on position.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the firing head, rotated ninety degrees from its position in FIG. 1, with the safety moved to the 0115 position.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the safety clasp shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4 is an end view of the clasp shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is an end elevation of a disc which may be inserted in the firing head to prevent the flare shell primer from backing up.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the flare shell used with the ejector of the present invention.

Before explaining the present invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also,

;it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed in this specification is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

Referring to the drawings, the ejector is composed of two main parts, the barrel 6 and the firing head 8. These two parts are coupled by a chain 10 which is of sufficient length to permit removal of the firing head from the barrel. The chain 10 is affixed to the barrel by the snap ring 12,.and is alfixed to the firing head by the snap ring 14.

The barrel is provided with external threads which engage internal threads in the firing head at 16 as shown in FIG. 1. The barrel includes the bore 18 and the flare chamber 20. The flare chamber 20 if of different length than the usual shotgun shell. Therefore, it is impossible to force a shotgun shell into the device.

The firing head includes a recess 22 for accommodating the rim of the flare shell. The firing head has a central opening running therethrough. This central opening provides a spring chamber 24 for housing a spring 25, and a rod passage 26.

In assembling the firing head, the spring 25 is inserted into spring chamber 24. 7 Next rod 28 is positioned through the spring 25 and rod passage 26 from the left end of the firing head. The rod 28 has a circular flange.

30 thereon. A firing pin 32 extends from the flanged end of the rod. An actuating disc 33 is afiixed to the right end of rod 28 by suitable means such as press fitting or screw'threading.

It is highly desirable to provide an eificient safety mechanism to make certain that the flare will not be fired if the loaded ejector is dropped or the actuating disc is otherwise accidentally struck. The safety mechanism in the present instance consists of a clasp 34 made of spring material. The clasp includes a rounded rod seat 36 which is adapted to engage rod 28 when the safety is in the on position. The clasp extends outward from each side of the rod seat 36 and then is bent downwardly into two legs 38 and 40. The legs terminate in two inwardly bent prongs 42 and 44 which seat in holes in the firing head as shown in FIG. 1. The prongs are bent inwardly at an angle, as shown in FIG. 3, so that they create an interference fit in the holes of the firing head. This enables the safety clasp to maintain any position to which it is set. For instance, if the safety clasp is moved to the off position as shown in FIG. 2, it cannot flip down into the on position accidentally.

The device is loaded by unscrewing the firing head 8 from the barrel 6. The flare shell, which is shown at S in FIG. 6, is then inserted into the flare chamber 20. The firing head 8 is then screwed back on and the device is ready to fire. of the user and pointed upward. The ejector is fired by pulling back on the actuating disc 33 and then releasing it. The pulling back of the disc moves the flange 30 on rod 28 against the spring 25 and compresses the same. When the disc 33 is released by the user, the spring 25 forces the flanged rod 28 back toward the flare shell, and the firing pin 32 strikes the primer of the flare shell to fire the shell and eject the flare.

When the flare ejector is loaded and it is desired to render it safe, the clasp 34 is rotated about the prongs 42 and 44 from the position of FIG. 2 to the position of FIG. 1. The rod seat 36 is slightly tapered as shown in FIG. 3 so that it snaps into position on the rod 28. In this position, the actuating disc 33 will engage the top of the safety clasp before the firing pin 32 can reach the primer of the flare shell.

It has been found that sometimes the primer on a flare shell will back up around the firing pin. To prevent this, the disc 46 (FIG. 5) is provided. The disc is threaded on its periphery 48, and has a hole 50 in the center. Disc 46 is screwed into firing head 8 and hole 50 accommodates firing pin 32. The disc is thus located between the end of barrel 6 and the inside of the firing head, and prevents the shell primer from expanding backwardly.

The firing head, barrel, actuating disc and rod are made of anodized aluminum. The chain, snap rings and safety clasp are corrosion-resistant. Thus, the flare ejector will not be corroded by weather, salt water and other corrosive elements.

My device is simple and easy to use. It is compact and inexpensive. It is safe, and it is eflicient in use.

Having thus-described my invention, I claim:

A signal flare ejector for use with a shotgun shell type flare, comprising a barrel having two ends, said barrel including a bore and a flare chamber at one end which The barrel 6 is grasped in one hand,

flare chamber is larger in diameter than said bore, said flare chamber being shorter in length than a standard shotgun shell to prevent full insertion of a shotgun shell therein, a firing head removably affixed to the end of said barrel which has the chamber, said; firing head having a passage extending axially therethrough, a firing-mechanism contained in said firing head, said firing mechanism including an axially movable rod disposed in said passage, said rod having an inner end and an outer end, a firing pin-on the inner end of said rod adapted to extend into the chamber, a shoulder on said rod remote from the outer end, the outer end extending out of the firing head, a coil spring surrounding the rod and extending between the rodshoulder and the inner confines of the passage, a hand-actuated grip disposed on the outer end of the rod, and a safety clasp including a substantially U-shaped length of spring wire, which spring wire has prongs turned inwardly on its ends to engage openings in said firing head in an interference fit so that the clasp References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,140,214 Temple Dec. 13, 1938 2,667,123 Giorgi Jan. 26, 1954 2,813,546 Aniison Nov. 19, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 696,764 Great Britain Sept. 9, 1953 OTHER REFERENCES Pyrotechnic Projectors; War Dept Technical Manual; T-M9-1290; Mar. 18, 1943. e 

